Flower Meanings
by Song of the Lark
Summary: "Freesia," Hana notes, sniffing the flower delicately. "It means innocence and friendship. Mister Akuma" – she looks up, her eyes sparkling with mirth – "are you saying you want to be my friend?" A story in which Vivi tries to win over a reincarnated Hana with the one thing she loves most: flowers.
1. Chapter 1: Roses

Vivi glances around the flower shop, taking in the bloody reds, cheerful oranges, sunny yellows, and sky blues that decorate the interior like random splashes of paint. It's too... _bright._ He wrinkles his nose, his face settling into a scowl.

Stupid Moritz. If he hadn't shown up at the mansion, Vivi wouldn't have launched fireballs at him, burned down the garden, and gotten whacked on the head by a tearful Anzu screaming "Mama's roses!" He also wouldn't have been threatened with a slow and painful death (courtesy of Yamabuki) if he didn't buy replacement flowers first thing in the morning. He could've slept in if it weren't for him!

Stupid Moritz.

"Welcome!" A girlish voice chirps from over the counter. "What kind of flowers are you looking for?"

His eyes flit over to the voice's owner. "I want –" He inhales sharply.

A girl with a smile as beautiful as a flower looks up at him. _Hana's_ smile.

Vivi stares at the girl, dumbfounded, his mind grasping at straws. How...? Hana is _dead_ – has _been_ dead for more than a decade! Why is she...?

The girl waves a hand in his face. "– okay, Mister?"

Vivi blinks and his heart gives an uncomfortable squeeze when the girl – _Hana_ , _his Hana_ – leans over the counter, eyes wide with concern.

"What? Oh, I'm fine." Vivi hurriedly points to the bucket of flowers beside the counter. "I'll take a bouquet of roses. The red ones."

Hana nods with a cheerful "Got it!" and immediately throws herself into her work, grabbing the roses from the bin and arranging them neatly on the table. But then she slows down and stares at the flowers with a bit of wistfulness, looking like she doesn't want to part with them.

"You seem a little young to be working at a flower shop," Vivi starts.

He leans across the counter, his fingers itching to touch Hana's which are picking out colorful ribbons on the other side of the linoleum tabletop. He doesn't act on the urge though and just grips the edges of the counter.

"Hana is fourteen." She grins and thumps her chest proudly. "Mama said I could help out after school."

 _Mama_ , Vivi thinks a little glumly. Of course this Hana would already have a family. It's not like he could kidnap her from her current life, but then again...he doesn't need force to win her over.

"Here you are, sir." Hana hands the bouquet to Vivi, all smiles. "That'll be twenty five dollars. Is there anything else you'd like?"

"No, that will be all," Vivi says absentmindedly. Without much thought, he plucks a rose from his bouquet and pushes it behind Hana's left ear. "Miss" – he makes a show of glancing at her name tag – "Hana, I think you look nicer with a flower in your hair."

Hana's cheeks turn a rosy pink, a shade that puts the flower in her hair to shame.

Vivi chuckles and closes her gaping mouth with a slight tap under her chin. "See you around, Hana."

With a dozen roses in his hand and a smile on his face, Vivi departs.

It doesn't matter that Hana doesn't remember him. What matters is that Hana loved him once and she'll learn to love him again.

He'll make sure of it, no matter how long it takes.


	2. Chapter 2: Freesia

Three days later, Vivi stands in front of _Tanizaki's Flowers_. He stands out there for a moment and peers inside the shop through the window.

Hana stands on the other side at the counter, neatly arranging purple tulips and orange, yellow, and pink gerber daisies into a basket. Her hands move quickly, fluidly, sweeping up each flower with practiced ease, like an eagle swoops down to grab its prey.

Vivi presses his hand against the glass, just a tad wistful. The only thing separating them is a thin barrier of glass, easily shattered with a fist; however, the same cannot be said for the block on Hana's memories of her previous life. It will most likely never be broken.

 _But that's fine_ , Vivi thinks and removes his hand from the window. They can make new memories.

He pushes open the door and listens to the slight chime of bells above his head, signalling a customer has entered the shop.

Hana looks up from her flower arrangement and smiles at the sight of him. "Oh, you're from the other day!" she chirps, lips stretching into a toothy grin. "Mister..."

"Akuma," Vivi cuts in and saunters over to the young girl, carefully keeping his both hands behind his back out of view.

Hana's face scrunches up with suppressed laughter. "Mister Akuma."

Vivi would usually scold Hana – the old Hana – when she laughed at him, but he can hardly bring himself to care now. The thought of her being alive to laugh at him again makes him happy enough to let this small transgression slide just this once.

She moves over to him from behind the counter, flower arrangement forgotten, and asks, "So what can I do for you?"

Vivi smiles. Right on cue.

Hana raises a brow questioningly when Vivi thrusts a yellow bell-shaped flower with a wiry stem under her nose. "What's this?" she asks, taking the flower into her gentle grasp.

"...It's for you."

Her smile widens so much that it almost physically hurts to look at her.

Oh, how long it's been since he's last seen that smile.

"Freesia," Hana notes, sniffing the flower delicately. "It means innocence and friendship. Mister Akuma" – she looks up, her eyes sparkling with mirth – "are you saying you want to be my friend?"

Vivi grunts and looks away abashedly.

Hana giggles, taking that as a 'yes.'

Even when Vivi roughly pinches her cheek, a small blush coloring his face, Hana continues to smile because there's something so endearing and familiar about him that makes her feel a burst of joy in her heart. Maybe it's just a feeling, but she thinks he doesn't do this very often.

With one last laugh, Hana cradles the delicate flower to her chest and declares, "I'd love to be your friend."

* * *

 **A/N: Is the story going too fast? Also, do you think Vivi would act this way?  
**


	3. Chapter 3: Sunflowers

"It's not normal, Hana," Momo chides her. He sits at the foot of her bed, arms crossed and face molded into concern. "He's like–what? Twenty or something? Why would a twenty-something-year-old want to hang out with a kid our age?"

Hana smiles, a thoughtful look on her face. She twirls the freesia in her hands, lifting it to the window so its petals can catch the light. It's already a little wilted, despite her best efforts to keep it alive. "Maybe he's lonely?" she muses.

Momo snorts. "Riiight," he says, dragging out the word. His expression sours when he sees the flower in her hands. Momo loves flowers (though he'll never admit it), but now he thinks he really hates freesia. "Seriously, Hana, you should stay away from him. He _has to_ be dangerous."

Hana just continues to smile.

* * *

Vivi frowns when he walks through the front door of the mansion without incident.

How...strange.

Lately, Anzu and Yamabuki have grown suspicious over his recent outings into town (since he rarely ever goes out more than once a month, let alone twice), and it's so _tiring_ trying to avoid their ambushes. Occasionally, they would catch him right before he left, and Anzu, the more verbal one of his two children, would frown and bombard him with questions.

"You never used to go out before, Papa," Anzu would complain. She'd puff out her chest, her hands on her hips, and glower at him. He supposed she was trying to look intimidating, but Vivi hasn't felt fear in nearly thirty years, and he wasn't about to start now. At this point, he'd either fireball a hole in the ceiling and escape (neither of them had wings, thank _God_ ) or bribe them with a new variety of flowers for their mother's garden.

It's selfish of him, but he wants to keep the knowledge that Hana is alive to himself for just a little longer.

* * *

Hana is sitting at the flower shop's counter, her hand pressed to her cheek, and looking out the window when her thoughts suddenly turn to a certain tall, dark, and handsome man. She wonders if she's right, if he really is just lonely and looking for company. It would certainly explain his wish for a friend. But he looks like he could get whatever he wants with just a word. Why would he be lonely?

Hana sighs and sinks into the counter, when a dark blob in her peripheral vision suddenly shifts, growing larger and more prominent. She looks up.

Speak of the devil...

"Mr. Akuma!" Hana sits up and beams at him.

"Hello, Hana." Vivi returns her smile. "I have a present for you." At that, he pulls out a large stalk from behind his back.

"Oh, a sunflower!" She stretches her hands out eagerly.

Vivi smiles and pushes the sunflower into her waiting arms.

She strokes the bright yellow petals slowly, her fingers barely brushing the flower. _Adoration_. That is the meaning of the sunflower, but... Hana scrunches her brows. She doesn't understand what she's done to be adored. "You know," she starts slowly, "I've been thinking."

 _Oh, God._ Vivi blanches. _Those words are never good._

"...Mr. Akuma?"

He blinks and finds Hana waving her hand in his face.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine," he forces out. He swallows down the lump in his throat. _Is she going to ask him to stop coming?_ "Just fine. What were you saying?"

Hana shoots him a strange look but brushes it off. She grins. "Well, I was thinking that, now that we're friends, we should meet outside of the shop."

Vivi almost sinks into the ground out of relief. He lets out a soft chuckle at his own foolishness. "Sure, that sounds great."

With both parties being in agreement, they set the date and place: next Sunday, 3 o'clock, at the park.

Unbeknownst to the two, they are being watched by three pairs of eyes.

* * *

 **A/N: Oh, God, I am _so_ sorry. I've made you guys wait like 7 months. This chapter didn't go quite the way I wanted, but I felt like I had to post something.  
**

 **Just out of curiosity, but what flower would you want me to center next chapter around?**


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